I heard the very lovely heart beat, nice and strong. S/he'd been moving around like crazy all day so I was hoping s/he'd be asleep by the appointment so the doc didn't have to go chasing around the heart beat like I can remember with Caleb. Oh Caleb, how he have always been a busy soul.

My blood pressure was nice and low, 80/50 and I had lost 3 lbs since my appointment. But the doc says everything is fine, my belly measures fine and all is well.

I have my ultrasound on March 6th. I'm so excited. I can't wait for Caleb to see his little brother or sister and of course I can't wait to see him or her either! So stay tuned as I'll be sure to share!

I was more exhausted than I thought I was. I knew I was tired but didn't realize how tired. I was home Wed by 7 am, went to bed and woke up to do something and then went back to bed and slept until four when it was time to get Caleb. I went back to bed at like 11 pm, woke up at 8:30 on Thursday to take Caleb to school and went back to sleep until 2:30 when it was time to get ready for my doc appointment. Then went to bed at 11pm, slept until 8:30 am Friday, got up to take Caleb to school and woke up in horrible pain (will explain in a few). Called doc and went back to bed until 1:00 pm. And now I'm at work hoping the night goes by quick. I don't know if it's being sick or just plain exhaustion but I can't tell you how much I needed the sleep.

So this morning (Friday) I woke up, rolled out of bed, stood up and hunched My first thought was my bladder infection had turned into a kidney infection. I called the doc, he wanted to see me later so I tried to sleep. Of course I was nervous what it was and couldn't walk so I felt it best to stay in bed. We went to the doc later that afternoon and he informed me that he's pretty sure I tore an oblique muscle. ??????? I asked if this was common, he said no. He said it takes 4-6 weeks to heal and I need to be very careful. He actually wanted to give me Valium to knock me out for a full 24 hours and let me muscles fully relax. I told him I didn't think I would be able to donate a full 24 hours to that although it didn't sound half bad. So he told me to stay off work until further notice and let it heal. I didn't argue but after the appointment I decided that since there is no harm to the baby or necessarily myself (other then pain) and I don't have much leave time that I would go to work anyway. I work overnight so it's not exactly strenuous. Just a couple counts and some searches. I'd live.

I’ve had this on-going head cold that just won’t go away! I’m so tired of it. It starts to let up and I think it’s going away and then it comes back stronger. There are so many people that have it and are just as irritated about it as me.

I’ve been horrible at returning emails and phone calls. I’ve never been this bad. I’m just tired, sick.

Caleb is doing great. I measured him the other day and he is 4’ 8”. My eight year old is almost 5 feet tall! And handsome as ever.

The baby is growing and move around lots. Especially at night which probably isn’t good. My kid is going to have issues with when to sleep and when to not. Ha! S/he likes to stretch out in my tummy---not the most comfortable feeling in the world. My stomach is definitely expanding. My work pants are about to go out the door and on to the next size. Along with most of my jeans!

Tomorrow is my doctor’s appointment. I’m 18 weeks as of last Monday. Can’t believe that I’m already 4 ½ months along! I will be getting back the results of my seven tubes of blood I donated---7 tubes!!!! This was the Cystic Fibrosis test, Down syndrome and pre-screening. They scared me though when they called me on Monday leaving a message to return his call.

Anyway, here are a couple pictures for you. Yes I’m lingering around in sweats and yes someday I will take a good full picture but for now…here you are.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. (Hopefully I can squeeze in my normal clothes just a tad longer but they’re gettingtight so we shall see) Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, (Which means all those familiar kicks to the ribs are coming soon enough) his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. (I’m sure s/he’ll have redhair, I think it might be unavoidable) He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

How your life's changing: The top of your uterus is about halfway between your pubic bone andyour navel, (But has pushed everything else up so I’m at the point where I look either fat or pregnant) and the round ligaments that support it are thickening and stretching as it grows. (Which becomes very obvious when I sneeze lying down, ouch!) You're probably feeling a whole lot better as you settle into pregnancy, too. Less nausea, (Actually no, since I had the flu, I’ve had somenausea-especially in the car) fewer mood swings, (I can think of a few people that would disagree) and "glowing" skin contribute to an overall sense of well-being. (Ya my skin’s not bad)Soon you'll experience one of the most wonderful moments of pregnancy — feeling your baby move. (Again just pressure but no movement) While some women notice "quickening" as early as 16 weeks, many don't feel their baby move until about 18 weeks or more. (I can’t rememberwhen I felt Caleb move) The earliest movements may feel like little flutters, gas bubbles, or even like popcorn popping. Over the following weeks they'll grow stronger and you'll be able to feel them much more frequently. (Cool)So I haven’t been doing too bad. Like I said above I have been nauseous more which is no fun. I have good days though with lots of energy and feeling ok. I also still get nauseous when I eat so it takes me a while. I’ve been very lucky with this baby, I thought Caleb was going to kill me with how sick I always was.

It’s funny because Caleb tried to come into this world 3 months early and has been impatient ever since (he takes after his mamma). This baby seems to have picked horrible timing to come so I have to wonder if s/he’ll forever have bad timing. However I'll take it however it is and make due. I’m very thankful and you know blessings come at their own time, not mine.

I was thinking about how it would be nice to have a girl. I think it would give my home a change of pace that is needed. Caleb wants it to be a brother but I think it would mellow him out a little too if it was a girl.